Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

After Ji An left, Daoist Master Chi Yun weighed the two Spirit Stones in his hand and laughed:

”He’s really willing; I wasn’t that aware when I was young.”

He recalled his past, when he didn’t understand social matters well and suffered many secret losses.

From the harvest of the two Grotto Void Stones, aside from various materials, there were about sixty top-grade Spirit Stones.

The other party took out half without batting an eye, stronger than most cultivators.

Cangmiao Zhenren stroked the Spirit Stone beside him and said in a deep voice:

”Do you think he would hide anything?”

”He probably wouldn’t; if he wanted to hide something, why report the matter at all.

After all, he’s just an outsider cultivator; even if a Demon Calamity erupts here, he could easily walk away.”

”Perhaps he’s afraid of the Demon Cultivator’s retaliation, wanting to leverage our power to strike against hidden enemies.”

”That’s possible, but judging from the Geng Metal Spirit-Slaying Sword level he controls, Chao Origin Stage cultivators are no match for him.

If a Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator appears, it would be more troublesome for us.”

Cold Qilin True Man interjected, ”Once the Law Enforcement Team finds information on the escaped Demon Cultivators, we’ll gather all forces to announce this matter.

We all depend on Immortal City to live, and will not allow anyone to disrupt its normal order.”

Order is necessary for development, while Demon Cultivators are the disruptors of all order, naturally opposed by all sides.

Daoist Master Chi Yun put down the Spirit Stones, divided them into three parts, took one part, and said:

”What do you think the level of the Demon Cultivator behind this is?”

Two corpses were nurturing a Demon Infant; they were just vessels, and these people knew but did not resist, becoming accomplices. It’s quite sad.

Cangmiao Zhenren collected ten Spirit Stones and passed the rest, saying:

”I think it’s not hard to guess, most likely a Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator.

It’s difficult for a Chao Origin Stage Demon Cultivator to control several Chao Origin Stage cultivators at the same time; it’s easier for a Golden Core Stage one.

If the Demon Cultivator reached Nascent Soul Level, there’s no need for such minor actions; directly performing blood sacrifices on a Golden Core Clan with thousands of cultivators would be the ordinary approach.”

The reason Demon Cultivators are attacked by everyone is their disdain for all rules; below Nascent Soul Stage, they are generally stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same rank, but compared to top-tier cultivators of the same rank, they don’t have much advantage.

The Spirit Soul of Demon Cultivators is generally more powerful, and a Nascent Soul Stage Demon Cultivator truly displays demonic flames towering to the sky.

If Demon Cultivators spread, the Cultivation Realm would be devastated, perhaps creating some extremely powerful Demon Cultivators, but at the cost of countless lives.

Many years ago, a Demon Cultivator force emerged in the Cultivation Realm, proving that the exploitative development of Demon Cultivators cannot last long.

Cold Qilin True Man put the Spirit Stones into the Grotto Void Stone and said:

”I agree with that.”

Daoist Master Chi Yun’s expression turned solemn, asking:

”Here’s the problem: when did this Demon Cultivator appear, and how many cultivators have become such parasitic puppets?”

...

Back in his Grotto Mansion, Ji An couldn’t help but exhale.

With the matter concluded, he wasn’t put in a difficult situation, which improved his mood significantly.

The bad news is he won’t be able to go out practicing the Escape Technique for a while; besides cultivation, he can only practice Spirit Roar or ponder the Silk Thread Spell.

He lit the Wind Furnace, boiled a pot of water to brew Jade Dew Golden Bud, and after drinking the hot tea, his Sea of Consciousness felt refreshed.

He took a comfortable sip and smiled bitterly to himself:

”Good days are not many left indeed.”

His lament had two implications: firstly, his high-tier Spirit Tea was running low, and at the current rate of consumption, it’d last no more than a year.

The other referred to the inevitable disturbances in Red Rock Immortal City; if the traces of Demon Cultivators aren’t found, the danger won’t be eliminated.

Cup after cup of Spirit Tea went down his throat; Ji An even swallowed the tea leaves, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

He began to carefully count his gains from the Grotto Void Stone.

During the Law Enforcement Team’s inspection, it was done by several Daoist Masters; he didn’t handle it, missing out on the joy of the harvest, which he needed to make up for.

There were thirty-two top-grade Spirit Stones left, and two hundred forty middle-grade Spirit Stones.

Five bottles of Red Dragon Abyssal Fiend, three large and two small; and two bottles of White Tiger Wind Shriek Fiend, one large and one small—large bottles containing fifty thousand threads, small ones ten thousand.

One piece of Chao Origin Stage Beast Hide, twelve pieces of Foundation Establishment Stage Beast Hide, with two being late-stage Foundation Establishment, and multiple Demon Beast Essence Blood.

Forty-nine Spirit Medicines, but all were Foundation Establishment level herbs, which he didn’t plan to keep but would rather deal with them at the Pill Medicine Shop later.

Ji An classified and arranged all the gains with a self-mocking smile:

”The saying ’a horse isn’t fat without night grass, a man isn’t rich without windfall’ is so true; I’m almost tempted to become a Tribulation Cultivator.”

Not counting the thirty top-grade Spirit Stones and Spiritual Artifact he sent out, he roughly estimated today’s gains to be worth at least one hundred top-grade Spirit Stones.

To gain so much in just a few double hours, it’s no wonder some cultivators turn to the path of Tribulation Cultivation after tasting the sweetness; how many can resist such temptation?

Ji An took out the Black Gold Hammer and after a bit of exploring, understood the Spell to control it.

He shrank the Spiritual Artifact and then activated Pill Fire to start the Sacrificial Refinement, with lively red flames leaping up.

The Black Gold Hammer is a top-grade Spiritual Artifact and could actually be received into the Dantian for refinement, which would be more efficient.

A Golden Core Daoist Master particularly reminded him that it was infected with Demonic Qi, so he dared not receive it into his Dantian, as Demonic Qi pollutes a cultivator, and removing it is quite troublesome.

After two double hours, Ji An felt his Spirit Soul was somewhat weary, and was very careful when activating Pill Fire because it could damage the Dharma Prohibition while burning.